


Stay By Me

by BreeTaylor



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Cheese, Fake AH Crew, GTAverse, M/M, Overprotective, and really protective of ray, in which ryan is really good with knives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:31:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5469926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreeTaylor/pseuds/BreeTaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan had always been good with knives. Ray was good with long-range combat. They made one hell of a team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay By Me

Ryan had always been good with knives. Ever since he was young they had amused him. At first he liked to experiment with weights and types; finding out what worked best for throwing, and what worked best for close-range combat. Over the years he got quite good with a variety of knives, but he never thought he’d use those skills.

He met Ray just outside of Los Santos. Ray was good with long-range combat. Sniper rifles were his strong suit. Ryan didn’t expect the connection to be quite as immediate and strong as theirs was, but by the end of the night he found Ray sitting behind him on his bike as he made his way into the infamous city of Crime.

They got a tiny apartment in a shitty part of the neighborhood. There was a bed, a TV that didn’t work, and a futon. The landlord wouldn’t give them more than a three month lease, and Ryan suspected it was because no one lasted that long. Neither of them had saved up much money, but it was a problem that they quickly overcame.

Their first robbery was a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. Ray camped across the street, watching for anyone who tried to come in and… incapacitated them. Ryan went in and convinced the store clerk to hand over the contents of his till. He planned to let the guy live, he really did, but the poor asshole decided to call the cops. So Ryan buried a knife in his brain before high-tailing it from the store. Ray held off the cops, sitting backwards on the motorcycle and shooting their tires out one by one before picking them off slowly.

When they got back to their shithole apartment that night, their hearts were still going a mile a minute in their chest. They couldn’t stop laughing, the thrill of the evening pumping through their veins as they counted their earnings. Just over $1000, nothing great.

It became routine after that. Every night they’d hit up a store on the outskirts of Los Santos, and they’d never get caught. As they grew more confident, they moved closer to the city. Hit up bigger companies, or multiple stores a night. Ryan invested in a mask, Ray duped up his gun and painted it hot pink. Ryan had some concerns with the color, but it made Ray happy and as long as he was happy, Ryan was happy.

They moved out of their shithole apartment just over a month after they got to the city, moving to a decent sized one in the middle of the city. They packed up their few belongings and robbed the asshole landlord blind before leaving.

Things started going better and better. Ryan started teaching Ray how to get the upper hand with a knife, and Ray helped Ryan get better with a variety of guns. The more time that went by, the better they got, and the cockier they got.

The first official heist they pulled off took a month to plan. Ryan found the blueprints and hacked their systems, Ray acquired the weaponry. They planned late into the nights, pouring over the blueprints until they had the perfect plan of attack. They were going to rob the biggest bank in Los Santos. Ambitious? Yes. A little crazy? Yes.

Ryan genuinely didn’t expect it to go as well as it did. With only two people he was worried they’d get caught or cornered, but they didn’t. Ray was as quick with a gun as Ryan was with a knife, if he missed a guard Ray would have him down before Ryan could so much a think about worrying. Getting into the safe was a little more difficult than he was expecting, but with Ray watching his back Ryan could stay calm and focus on the safe.

They pulled a quarter of a million dollars that night and got away before the cops even arrived. Ray had even taken the time to spray paint a bold, red  _‘R &R’_ onto the door of the safe. They laughed the entire way back to their apartment.

When they got there, Ryan scooped Ray up in his arms, hugging him tightly. Before he really knew what he was doing, he was pressing his lips to the younger man’s. He didn’t expect it to happen, and he wanted nothing more than to take it back. Or, he did. Until Ray was pulling him closer, and then pulling him towards the bedroom.

Things changed after that. They were closer than ever, worked more in sync if it was even possible. They continued to tackle overly ambitious heists with surprising ease. They lazed around together during the day, playing videogames and getting high. They fucked when they wanted to and robbed what they wanted to during the night.

Life was genuinely great, and that is exactly why Ryan knew he should’ve kept his guard up. Because as soon as they got comfortable, as  _soon_  as they were really happy, the Fake AH Crew showed up.

Ryan knew about them. He’d known about them before he’d even arrived in Los Santos. They were infamously one of the best known crews in America, and they ran the city. He should’ve known that it’d only be a matter of time before they got pissed. It was their city, and Ray and Ryan were taking it by storm. He should’ve known, but he let himself get distracted. He lost himself in Ray and it was because of that that he woke up one morning to a cold bed and a note held to the pillow with one of Ryan’s own knives.

_We’ve got your boyfriend. What are you going to do about it?_

An address was scrawled on the back, but Ryan could barely read it. He was shaking with a mix of anger, fear, and disappointment. He’d let the only person important to him get taken. They got into their _home_  and took Ray and he hadn’t even woken up. He felt sick.

He knew what Ray would say. He knew that Ray wouldn’t want him to come. He knew Ray would want him to think about it rationally, not barge straight in and hope for the best. But  _Ray_  was the rational one. Ray was the one who kept his head on straight, and  _they_ hand him.

So Ryan grabbed his mask, a couple of his favorite knives, a gun, and Ray’s sniper rifle before barging out of the apartment and making his way to the address on the back of the note.

He slammed through the doors of the warehouse, too far past rational thinking to try for any kind of subtlety.

“God damn it, Ryan.” Ray sighed, “Dude what did we talk about?  _Rational thinking? Keeping our heads on straight?_ ”

Laughter came from his left and a mustached man stepped from the shadows. “If I knew it’d be this easy, I would’ve done it months ago.” Three other people stepped into the light, surrounding him.

“It’s almost not fun at this point.” The redhead said, lunging for Ryan. He was too slow. All muscle, no thought. Ryan dodged him easily, planting a knife firmly into his thigh. “Motherfucker!” The guy shouted, staring at the knife Ryan still held. He turned it a half inch to the right and Michael screamed louder. He heard footsteps behind him and spun, leaving Michael cursing in pain and desperately trying to remove the blade from his thigh.

The woman was moving towards him this time. Her movements were more calculated, more cautious. Still, it was easy enough for him to incapacitate her. He overpowered her in stature, and it took next to no effort to slam the hilt of another knife into her temple. The sound of her body slumping to the ground was satisfying.

The leader and the one remaining goon attacked at the same time. They were both pissed, not nearly as much as Ryan was. He focused on the goon first, dodging the knife in his hands quickly and moving behind him.

“ _Stop!_ ” The leader shouted. Ryan would’ve ignored him, but when he glanced over there was a gun pressed to Ray’s temple. The sight alone put him off just long enough for the other man to get the upper hand. A knife pressed against his neck.

“Don’t you fucking touch him,” Ryan said. “I promise you, if you hurt him I will kill you.”

“Will you now? From what I can tell, you’re a bit stuck at the moment. You move, I shoot him. Or Gavin slits your throat. Either way, one of you dies.”

“Don’t underestimate me.” Ryan hissed.

The man just laughed. “You’re messing with the wrong people. This is  _my_  city. You shouldn’t have come here.”

He aimed the gun a little lower, at Ray’s thigh, and shot once. Ryan shouted, everything seeming to move in slow motion at the bullet hit its target and Ray screamed in pain.  “That’s for Michael.”

Ryan was done. He reached up, twisting around and away from the knife in the goon—Gavin’s hand. He forced it into the man’s stomach and lunged for the leader. Another shot went off, this one connecting with Ryan’s shoulder. Pain flared, but rage spurred him forward. He tackled the man, quickly pressing a gun to his temple. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Go on then,” He said calmly, “Shoot me. But your boyfriend’s losing a lot of blood there. Looks like you are too.”

Ryan didn’t take his eyes off the man, “Ray, you alright?” Nothing, “Ray?” He asked more desperately. Still nothing. Ryan swore under his breath.

“Take him to the hospital and you’ll both end up in jail. You’re the most wanted guys in town.”

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t just shoot you now,” Ryan growled.

“I have a good medic waiting less than a block away. One phone call and he’ll be here. If not, he’ll march right into the hospital and warn them you’re coming.” He laughed, “It’s up to you, man.”

* * *

Ryan wanted to shoot him, he really did. But Ray was more important, always would be. Ryan would deal with this stupid crew later.

The medic, Caleb, showed up quickly. Geoff let Ryan go to Ray, which was definitely unexpected. He held the younger’s hand tightly in his own, trying not to panic as Caleb worked on removing the bullet lodged in his leg.

“He’ll be fine,” Caleb told him after a while. “I’m going to need you to move him to the bed over there, he needs to rest.” Ryan nodded, quickly pulling Ray into his arms.

He stayed by the bed, studying Ray’s face and watching him sleep. He looked peaceful, normal. But he’d lost a lot of blood. Caleb said Geoff was a good shot. He said that Ray wouldn’t have any permanent damage. Ryan just hoped he was right, because if not? Well, it didn’t matter how many people Geoff threw at him, there wouldn’t be any stopping Ryan.

The woman, Jack, woke up just before Caleb arrived. She started patching up Michael, who was still fuming. Then she worked on Ryan’s shoulder, although she didn’t seem happy about it. Ryan didn’t know why they were helping. They had kidnapped Ray. Ryan had almost killed two of them. Might’ve actually killed Gavin if he’d been up or down a couple inches.

“You’re a good fighter.” Geoff said, coming up behind him. “We weren’t expecting you to be that good.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you want, but the only reason you’re still breathing is because of Ray.”

“I want you to join us.” Geoff stated. “Both of you.”

“ _What?_ ” Ryan shouted, “Are you fucking serious?”

Geoff nodded. “You’re good at what you do. We need people like you on our side, not against us.”

“You tried to  _kill_  him. Why would I work for you?”

“We were never going to kill him. We wanted to see what you would do. Scare you a little maybe.”

“You’re lucky you’re not all dead.”

“Exactly,” Geoff laughed, “You exceeded expectations. So what do you say? Join us and become legends, or leave the city?”

“Neither.”

“You’re not staying in this city if you’re against us.”

“There’s not a lot you can do.”

Geoff sighed, “I don’t have to let you two assholes leave here alive.”

Ryan didn’t respond. He just watched Ray. Watched for any signs of him waking up but finding none. Hours passed and Ryan got increasingly more nervous. The crew gave them their space, but didn’t leave the warehouse. He could hear Michael complaining about his leg, and Gavin whining about his stomach. He could hear Geoff and Jack talking quietly.

Ray woke up at one in the morning. He blinked blearily, reaching for Ryan. He felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders, moving closer so he could lower his voice.

“Hey,” He whispered.

“Hi.”

“How’re you doing?”

Ray groaned, “I’ve been better. Why are we still in the warehouse?”

“They won’t let us leave.”

“Ryan.” Ray said, “They couldn’t stop you if they tried.”

“They want us to join their crew.”

“Seriously?” Ray asked, eyebrows raising. “Why?”

“Because we’re badass.”

“True.”

“Geoff says we join, or we leave Los Santos.”

“Which one is that one?”

Ryan frowned, “The asshole that shot you.”

“Huh.” Ray laughed, turning on his side slightly so he could look at Ryan. “You’ were kind of a badass back there. I’ve never seen you like that.”

“They hurt you.” Ryan said simply.

“D’awe, I’m flattered.”

“I love you, Ray.” Ryan said quietly, “I really do.”

Ray smiled, even as his eyes drooped closed again. “Mm, love you too.”

* * *

“If we join your crew, there’s going to be some rules.” Ryan said. When he was confident Ray was okay and asleep, he made his way over to the gang.

“I make the rules in the crew.” Geoff said.

“Well not if you want Ray and I to join.” Ryan rebutted. “We get to live where we chose. We get to do what we chose. We’ll help you out, sure, but we want to be able to do our own thing.”

“Alright.”

“What?” Michael asked, “Seriously, Geoff? He’s using you.”

“You’re just angry because he got the upper hand on you,” Gavin mocked. “I like him.”

“Good. I’m not saying we’re joining. It’s up to Ray.”

“Alright.”

“Hey, asshole,” Michael said as Ryan started moving back towards Ray. “The fuck kind of knife did you use on me, anyway? It hurt more coming out than going in.”

Ryan smiled, “Bayonet.”

* * *

Ray had been surprisingly okay with them joining the crew. He seemed to think that it’d make their lives easier—and safer. Ryan, however, still felt unsure. He liked what they had going on. He liked their life and their little apartment. He like planning heists with Ray or robbing convenience stores for a laugh. He wasn’t ready for everything to change.

But Ray was. And as long as Ray was happy, Ryan was happy. So he didn’t complain when they went to Geoff’s and joined the crew. He didn’t complain when he had to sign contracts, or when they made them stay for dinner.

He let Gavin talk about stupid shit, let Michael complain about how fucked up his leg was. Ray seemed to enjoy their company and if Ray was happy, Ryan was happy.

They didn’t leave until the early morning of the next day. Ray asked Ryan to drive them to Mount Chiliad, which had become their favorite place to just relax in Los Santos.

“Rye?” He asked, breaking the silence. “You know everything’s going to be alright, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Ray turned to him, grabbing his hand and holding his gaze. “This doesn’t change anything. They’re decent guys, but they’re not us. It’s you and me until the end, okay? R & R connection.”

Ryan couldn’t help but smile. “R & R Connection.”

 


End file.
